Unyielding
by Herpestidae
Summary: As her relationship with Beast Boy develops, Raven learns the hard way that the daughter of Trigon the Terrible is not to be denied.
1. Midnight

I can't really say what inspired this story. One part demon mythology, one part snippet from a canned fic, one part visit to tvtropes (never go to that site; _you will **never LEAVE! **_[by the way, it's a dot org site]), and a couple parts each of: painkillers, caffeine, and energy drinks. A warning: while this fic may have a few sexual jokes, there will be no citrus fruits of any kind. I stand to the maxim that you should write what you know, and at the most I'd be writing half a sex scene. That's like giving someone half a kitten. Is that what you want? Didn't think so. Well, let's get on with it.

One thing of note: this takes place after the events of _Mindscape_ (which I will get back to, don't worry). Raven and Beast Boy are in a quasi-relationship. Nothing much has happened between them; metaphorically speaking, they haven't moved that far past first base. Once again, I start with a prologue. No action scene in this one, though. Just a general overview of the relationship, and maybe a hint at whatever plot it is that I'm cooking up.

* * *

Raven opened her eyes. She was covered in a cold sweat, and had this strange feeling that she couldn't exactly place. She remembered that she had had a dream, but wasn't sure what it was about. She had no time to worry about that now anyway, because- as indicated by the blaring siren and the seizure-inducing red flashes- there was trouble in Jump City. She floated groggily down the hallway. It seemed that the villains were working overtime. The other doors in the hallway opened one by one, save Robin's. He was in the Op. Center by now, or likely had never even left it. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, signifying that she was being watched. Beast Boy was next to her, looking enraptured.

"Good night to you, too," Raven deadpanned. Beast Boy straightened up, as if snapping out of a trance.

"Oh, uh... hi?"

"May I ask what you find so interesting about me?"

She hadn't meant for that to come out in such a flirtatious manner. However, Beast Boy seemed oblivious to the undertones.

"You smell different."

"You like? It's called _Sweat_ by Calvin Klein."

"Nah, you've been sweaty before. This is something else entirely."

"Something like what?"

"I dunno, but it smells _good_."

Raven edged back a bit. She felt her cheeks burn.

"Are - Are you... hitting on me?"

"Maaaybe," Beast Boy half-sung, doing his best to look innocent. He even put on a ridiculous grin, which became a grimace as Cyborg gave him a "gentle tap" on the back of the head.

"You two can be all flirty _after _the mission, thank you very much. Preferably where I can't see or hear you."

Starfire tried to hide the fact that she was giggling. It did not work.

True to form, Robin was at the large computer in the living room, bringing up a video feed. Raven shook her head when she saw what was in progress.

"Why can the man who calls himself Dr. _Light_ never bring himself to rob jewelry stores in the _daytime_?"

"Well, that one time," Cyborg said, reminiscing, "he got beat down by _every Titan _in the world. Really puts a guy off."

"Anyway, you guys can go back to sleep," Raven announced confidently. She looked to see a group of confused faces.

"Come on, this is _Dr. Light_. I'll just sneak up behind him and tell him to go away. Problem solved."

"I don't think you should go by yourself," Robin said. "We don't know what he's planning or anything."

"I'll go with her," Beast Boy chimed in.

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm sure I can take care of this myse-"

"Humor me."

Beast Boy had a look in his eyes that she could never say "no" to. Granted, he never used it much, and he never forced her to do anything she didn't want. It showed more than concern; it represented his promise to protect her, and everything he had done to fulfill it. How far he'd gone, and would continue to go, to make sure she was safe. And whenever she questioned what she saw in him, or how they had ended up in a relationship, she would remember that face, the dangerous, but soft glint in his eye, and know how much he cared about her, and why she cared about him.

"Alright."


	2. Malice

Author's note at the bottom this time. Just note that I'm theme naming the chapters with "M" this time.

* * *

Dr. Light whistled to himself as he made his way to the front door of the jewelry store. The diamonds he stole added more power to his new battle suit; the Titans would have a hard time keeping up with him. And he didn't have to worry about the witch and the darkness that came with her. The cold, cold darkness. He shuddered for a brief moment. Never again. He'd done his research. His entire plan had been formulated around it. There was no way it could fail. He had nearly reached the exit when he heard a familiar _whoosh_ of air. A figure in a dark blue cape rose from a portal in the ground in to his right. He continued walking, as if nothing out-of-the-ordinary had just occurred.

"Good evening," he said politely as he passed.

She flew around and faced him, her cape flowing about him like a snake's tail.

"It's midnight and I'm cranky. Drop the loot, and I'll just take you to jail."

If he hadn't seen her lips move, he would have sworn it was another person. It was subtle, but her voice lacked some of the deadness that it usually had. He continued walking, stepping around her.

"Pass," he replied nonchalantly.

"I said-"

"I heard."

"Well, I tried."

Dropping all pretense, Raven lifted her hands, and four tentacles reached from the ground and wrapped themselves around Dr. Light's arms. He broke free within seconds, much to Raven's surprise.

"I've done my Research, oh Gem of Trigon."

And with that, his suit lit up even further, an odd-looking sigil glowing red on his chest, with another on each arm.

"In the immortal words of MC Hammer, you can't touch this," Dr. Light quipped, chuckling a bit at his own joke. "I'll be seeing you lat-"

Suddenly, a green tiger bowled him over, pinning him to the floor and growling menacingly into his face.

"I should have known you wouldn't come alone," Light remarked. "Oh, wait, I _did_."

With a smirk, Dr. Light activated another feature of his suit, and a semi-circular force field erupted into being, launching Beast Boy into the air and forcing him to turn into an eagle, lest he hit the wall. An eagle that was easily blasted out of the air.

"Ta-Ta children," Light sang as he made his way, once again, to the exit.

A chunk of masonry hit him in the back, then another. He turned. Raven was levitating floor tiles, and launched them at him, pulling her energy away from them at precise moments and letting their impetus carry them the rest of the way. They did nothing to his suit, however. He put up his force field, only to have more tiles assault him from behind. He spent several seconds blasting them out of the air like clay pigeons. Then, a green blur and a strong wind to his right destroyed one of his blasters, claw marks running through the red emblem that once glowed. He faltered for a moment, and his left blaster was reduced to a similar state. His force field disappeared with a blow to the back of his suit. And surprisingly enough, he smirked. He opened his hands wide, and knew what was coming next. Beast Boy ran headlong at Light, tiger claws poised for the blow, and in the midst of the leap, Light fired a blast from his chest, right into Beast Boy's unprotected face. The green teen flew toward and smacked backward into the wall, Raven rushing to his side as Dr. Light simply sauntered out.

Beast Boy was lying facedown. Raven flipped him over, and the sight made her stomach turn. Dr. Light's beam had severely burned his face. In some places, she could see a bit of skull. She panicked. What was she going to do? She had to heal him before it was too late, but what could she-

She didn't need to finish the thought. Placing her hands on Beast Boy's face, she probed deep, felt every last vestige of pain in the wound, and a black bolt of energy shot from Beast Boy's face into her own. The pain would have been great, but she let it feed her Rage, and she barely felt a thing.

* * *

Dr Light was once again whistling as he walked down the road, his sack of loot giving him the appearance of a futuristic Santa Claus. Suddenly, all the lights on the block went out. He activated his suit, and the small amount of luminescence revealed a figure in the shadows. Or rather, a figure that was causing the shadows. A figure in a cloak that flapped in the wind.

"Oh, you've come to join me so soon? I bet the green fool didn't make it. Pity. I could have made him into a throw rug."

The streetlights came back on, and Dr. Light nearly soiled himself.

Raven was there, but it wasn't any Raven he'd seen before. She was standing ten feet tall, with blood-red skin, hands that narrowed to obsidian claws. She pulled back he hood, antlers growing out past hair that flowed down to her knees, and, most dangerous of all, four yellow eyes. Dr, Light quickly reached down to activate the symbol on his chest. It didn't work. Unnoticed, a single claw was stuck into it, rendering it worthless. He stared at it for a few seconds.

"Aw, FU**-**"

A beam of pure red energy hit him squarely in the chest, knocking him several meters back, almost to the door of the jewelry store he had so recently robbed. He got up and fired a few beams from his chest laser at the approaching sentinel, but they may as well have packing been peanuts for all the good they were doing. Then, Raven finally made a sound. She roared. Her mouth opened, revealing a ludicrous number of razor-sharp teeth, and a thousand voices flowed out at once in an unintelligible scream. Light recoiled, terrified, as a long tongue moved about him.

"Please! Have mercy!"

The thousand voices laughed.

"**Mercy? From me? You should have thought of that before you defied me, mortal!**"

And Light could only watch as Raven pulled her stomach apart and a hundred red hands emerged from the gaping hole, grabbing him, pulling him into nothingness.

Raven stood there, waiting for the next person who dared to challenge her, roaring out to the heavens. Beast Boy, roused by the call, stepped out. Raven looked toward him, and when he recoiled in mortal terror, something clicked inside of her. Slowly, she returned to her normal size. The antlers broke off, and the claws grew back into her skin, which was returning to its pallid complexion. Beast Boy, still confused as ever, scooped up his unconscious girlfriend and made for the tower.

* * *

It was cold. Dr. Light expected this much. The last time this had happened, all he felt was the cold, and it was waiting to embrace him once more. The darkness would devour him, and he would be alone. He did not know how long he drifted, but eventually, he stopped moving.

The first thing he noticed twas that the ground was warm. It was not cold.

He opened his eyes. A light bulb in the ceiling flickered. It was not dark.

No sooner had he breathed a sigh of relief that a tentacle wrapped around his arm. He was not alone.

* * *

**A/N**: I saw this chapter as a bit of poetic justice, if you will. The events of _Mindscape_ began with Beast Boy reacting to Raven being injured, so it only seems fair that Raven should get a few moments of enraged badassery considering this story is about _her_ issues with transformation. I'm letting slip far too much at this point, but is it enough? Also, I was tempted to have Rave just Eat Dr. Light, but that would be wrong on several levels.

The biggest problem in this chapter would be the lack of explanation as to where Dr. Light got the info on Raven. I have no real answer for you. I hope you forgive that I added that in for the sake of making the fight more interesting. If I decide later on that it will have any significance the plot, I will discuss it then. For now, the official explanation involves Time Lords.


	3. Mine

Warning: From this point on Raven will be quite a bit OOC. Please don't judge me too harshly; it's all part of the plan.

This chapter is also kind of short.

* * *

Being a team leader is not easy. When something breaks during a fight with a super-villain, who do you think gets the bill? And then, who has to contact the City Officials to ask, yet again, that the bill be waived, seeing as there would have probably been mass loss of life if his team had not intervened and broken whatever they had broken? And who gets the court summons when said super-villains sue on the basis of emotional distress? Robin of course.

But this night was just downright odd. First Beast Boy had entered the tower, carrying an unconscious Raven, not knowing how she even got in that state. Then, he receives an Email about an entire block of shattered streetlights. And _then_ he gets a call from the asylum, that Dr. Light had magically appeared there, and apparently believes that everyone is a tentacle monster that was trying to, er, do things to him.

So there he was, at one in the morning in the common room, typing up case files from weeks ago to hand in to the police chief. And everyone wonders why he was always so busy.

The metallic _whoosh_ roused him from his work-induced stupor. Someone had opened the door. There were no footsteps, so he could only assume that it was Starfire.

"Robin," she began, "it is very late. Do you not need the sleep?"

"I have coffee, Star. I'll be fine."

"I worry about you, sometimes. The only times you appear to get enough rest is when one of our foes delivers a rather strong blow to your head."

"Sorry to worry you, but you don't have to. I worry enough for the both of us."

Starfire sighed.

"Good Night, Robin."

"'Night Star."

She doors opened again. Starfire turned to him.

"I know that I do not have to worry about you. But I do anyways."

* * *

Robin wasn't the only one awake this late at night. Beast Boy lay on his back, staring at the bottom of the top bunk and pondering its purpose. He had other problems, of course, but he didn't like to think about them before falling asleep. However, one of those problems brought itself back to his memory of its own accord with a knock on his door.

"Come in."

It was Raven. He was glad to see that she was up and about, but she still looked rather stressed.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I- I can't sleep," Raven admitted. "Would you mind if I-"

Beast Boy moved over and allowed Raven to cuddle up next to him.

"What's the matter?"

Raven took a deep breath.

"I almost lost myself tonight. But worse than that, I almost lost _you_."

"Rae-"

"I'm not done," Raven said harshly. "Sorry. It's just that... when I thought of what happened, and what he did to you, I'd- I'd never been so angry. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him suffer. You saw what I did tonight, and I let that happen, because- Because I just can't imagine what my life would be like without you. I know we've only been together for a month or so, but I-"

She stopped, and took another breath to calm herself. Beast Boy felt her shaking against him, and realized that she was _crying_. He looked around. Nothing was blowing up. He certainly wasn't in another dimension. What was happening? Whatever it was, Raven needed him more than he needed answers. He wrapped his arms around her, and she stayed there, speaking through her sobs.

"You've been so good to me. You've all been good to me, but you- you take time out of your day to spend with me, even when I don't want anyone around. You try to cheer me up when I don't want to be. I- you... You remind me that I'm _human_, even when I don't believe it. I've never had a friend like you."

Another pause.

"Sometimes, I don't feel like I deserve all this. Why are you so good to me?"

"'Cause you're my girl."

Raven smiled.

"What, are you gonna give me a dog tag now?"

"Huh?"

"You've never seen _Forrest Gump_?"

"No..."

"With Tom Hanks? And the guy who wouldn't shut up about shrimp?"

Beast Boy shook his head.

"We'll have to get that one next time we go to the video store. Thanks for listening to me whine."

"Any time."

A pause.

"You're not going back to your room?"

"I'm a bit too comfortable right now."

Beast Boy chuckled. Soon enough, they both nodded off to a peaceful sleep.


	4. Mammal

As of the end of this chapter, those of you who are well versed in your demon mythology should understand _exactly_ what Raven's problem is. I won't tell you where the hint is, but I'm sure someone will see it, unless I am far too smart for all of you (which I highly doubt). But, if you do get it, please- for the sake of the readers who are not as smart as we are, wink wink- do not spoil it in your review. If you really want to know, shoot me a PM. I'll respond with a "Yes" or "No."

You're wondering about the title of this chapter, aren't you?

* * *

Before Beast Boy opened his eyes, he noted how incredibly rested he was. It was probably three in the afternoon by now. He put off opening his eyes for now, trying to recapture his rest, but it was futile. He gave a huge, satisfied yawn and stretched. but when he tried to get up, he found that he couldn't move. Gingerly, he cracked one eye open, just to make sure he hadn't been drugged and kidnapped again. He wasn't.

Raven, however, was laying curled up on top of his chest, fast asleep. It was actually quite cute. He couldn't bring himself to wake her. Slowly, he reformatted his body, shifting into a gorilla and allowing her to slide peacefully off of him. He decided to leave her there, rather than carry her to her room. He headed down the hallway to have what he was sure would be a very late breakfast.

It was just before sunrise. Not even Robin was awake yet. That was weird. He couldn't have gotten more than four hours of sleep. Shrugging it off as some sort of new animal ability (he'd been getting a lot of those, lately), he set about preparing and eating a light breakfast of cereal. Then, after ten minutes of boredom, he powered up the Gamestation. He started and fumbled for the remote to turn down the volume. He rummaged through the pile of discs until he found the one he was looking for: _Mega Crash Siblings: Ruckus_. After an hour and a half of playing against the CPU, he got bored enough to turn it off, only to find that someone had been watching the news. He was about to shut off the television as well, when a digital photo of Raven appeared in the top-left corner of the screen. It took a few seconds for Beast Boy to start listening to the words that came out of the anchorman's mouth.

_... began as a routine response to a jewelry heist turns into a massive No-Holds-Barred assault. Less than three months after her teammate went on his own rampage, Raven of the Jump City division of the Teen Titans is seen in an terrifying display of power. This report contains material that may be disturbing to some viewers._

An old man came on the screen, being interviewed.

_"I see this tall figure in next to a streetlight. Must have been twenty feet tall. Had hooves. I always knew that girl was dangerous, but this? I can't believe it."_

The anchorman's voice returned, dubbed over silent footage of Dr. Light's robbing the jewelry store.

His ears perked up as the doors slid open, but he didn't turn way from the television. He didn't turn around to see who it was. Instead, he let his own animal senses take over. The aroma of coffee. The quick, tense steps. The clank of boots. No odd whooshes of air. No doubt who was there.

_You can see here that Dr. Light has a new weapon in his arsenal... Beast Boy, who had gone on his own rampage several weeks ago, is seen taking what appears to be a laser blast to the face, and is knocked nearly offscreen. Raven goes over to see to him, and does... something... which causes her to change in form._

Beast Boy didn't need to see what was happening, but his eyes still remained glued to the screen as her very body seemed to stretch and contort: her leg bones growing long and thin, spikes breaking through the flesh of her back, hands mutating into jagged claws, and horn erupting straight from her head. Starfire shrieked when Raven on-screen looked in the direction of the camera, and it was all static.

_No further footage of the attack has been recovered, but Dr. Light survived the encounter, and is currently recovering in the asylum, apparently under the impression that- and I quote- "The tentacle monsters will get me" end quote._

The morning news continued on, but the three occupants of the room had lost all desire to pay attention._

* * *

_

_The huntress dashed through the steamy jungle, waist-length her indigo hair flowing as she leapt from tree to tree, stalking her prey while keeping far ahead of her pursuer. _

_But wait... _she_ was the predator; what was she running from? She turned her head and saw it._

_The mist; the cold, dark mist followed her wherever she went. _

_She needed warmth, which could only be found in her prey's lifeblood. Only that could banish it. _

_She hunted with more fervor still, but the creature was fast. And though the haze seemed to be crawling, it had the advantage; she needed to keep moving, while it had no bounds. The mist would swallow her up before she could ever catch the creature. _

_Still she pressed on, as her leaps became smaller, shorter. Her breath was ragged in her chest. Her vision was blurring, and she was slowing down. The mist caught up to her, freezing her foot in place on the ground in mid-stride. She fell, and slowly, painfully, the mist claimed her, inch by agonizing inch, crawling up one leg, then the other, moving toward her hips-  
_

"Aah!"

Raven woke with a start, breathing heavily. For a moment, she was confused. This wasn't her bed. Or her room. How did she get here? Then, as the sleep funk began to clear away, she remembered the events of the last night. How she was scared, and sought comfort with Beast Boy.

_Beast Boy._

Who knew that this scrawny green _kid_, this man-child who could never get a clue, could have such an effect on her? That someone who spent so much of his time annoying her could reach out to console her in a heartbeat? That she could have feelings for him that even she was unaware of?

And then she remembered the dream. Something about it made her feel... Good? Bad? She couldn't place it. She shook the thoughts away, stopping by her room to obtain another suit before heading down the hall for an early morning shower. The warm water banished some of the chill her dream had implanted in her spine. She dressed and headed for the common room. The three male titans around the breakfast table.

"Raven," Robin looked up to meet her, "I need to talk to you about what happened last... night."

Raven looked around. The three of them were sitting there, jaws slightly slack, staring at her.

"What? Something on my face?"

"No!" Cyborg waved his hands frantically, "everything's fine. You just... uh... you're usually up earlier than this! _Yeah, that's it..._ Uh... you get any meditating done?"

"Not really... I just woke up, and I'm starving. So, if you don't mind, I'd like some tea before the Q&A session."

"Cool."

When Raven turned her back to them, the three began a silent conversation.

_Did you two-_ Cyborg quirked his eyebrow suggestively at Beast Boy.

_What? No!_

_But you see what's different, right?_ Robin glared.

_No, because I'm completely blind_, Beast Boy glared in return sarcastically.

Cyborg turned his head quizzically, pointing his chin in Raven's general direction. _You think she notices? How do we know she's not just screwing with us?_

_This is Raven_, Beast Boy and Robin gestured.

_Well, you gotta tell her_, Cyborg pointed at Beast Boy.

_What do I just say it?_ Beast Boy shrugged.

_You are her boyfriend now. _Robin smirked.

_She probably won't take too much offense. _Cyborg nodded his head.

_I dunno..._ Beast Boy twiddled his thumbs.

**_Do it._** Cyborg and Robin glared menacingly.

_Um, okay..._ Beast Boy shrank.

"Uh.. Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, do you feel... different at all? this morning?"

"Tired. Not much else."

"Well, you certainly _look_ different."

"What, did guys you dye my hair?" Raven checked her locks to make sure. You never knew with these guys.

"No, it's just that I noticed... Well, this usually wouldn't be any of my business, but I'm your boyfriend now, and it's not hard to notice that you- I mean, before I begin, I should tell you that I don't usually actively look for- I mean, what I'm trying to say-"

"Beast Boy, spit it out!"

Just then, The doors whooshed open, and the missing member of the team floated in. She took one look around the room, and the next second, she was squealing, her arms tightly around Raven's torso.

"Oh, friend Raven, this is fantastic! Now we may join in the sisterly ritual of Grebnaxlorg*!"

"Of... what?" Raven choked

"On Tamaran, when a female begins to produce milk, she and her sisters perform the ritual of Grebnaxlorg! I must procure a wooden carving, and ironing board, and the left sock of a bodybuilder!"

It took a second for Raven to get what Starfire was saying.

"Wait a moment, I'm not producing any milk."

"You... aren't?"

"No!"

"So it is normal for the breasts of an earth female to double in size? For on my home planet, that only happens when one begins to produce milk."

Dead Silence.

...

...

"What?"

Raven looked down. She couldn't see her toes.

More silence.

"Twice their size?" Robin asked hopefully.

* * *

*That's actually the name of a story on this site. I am slightly ashamed (in a good way) of reading it.


	5. Munchies

Greetings. I apologize for yet another late update. Mainly it has to do with me being in college and stressing about stuff and having a slight mental breakdown of sorts. But I'm better now. Mostly.

Note the inherent stupidity and frustration in writing one-sided telephone conversations.

* * *

"I do not find this funny in the slightest."

"Um-" Starfire began, "you are certain that they are... real, yes?"

"Hmm," Raven pondered, testing the evidence for herself. "They certainly _feel_ real, but I _don't_ feel any added weight. It could just be my mind playing tricks on me. What do you guys think?"

...

"Guys?"

She looked up. All three of them were staring, shell-shocked. She wondered what their problem was, and then realized that her hands were still on her now expansive chest. Squeezing.

"Oh", she exclaimed, wrapping herself in her cloak. "Sorry."

"Well," Starfire began, "to be sure that it is not_ your_ senses that are being fooled, the obvious conclusion is to allow someone else to feel the evidence."

It took a moment for Raven to digest Starfire's words.

"Okay, I see where this is going. How'd Beast Boy get all this done, and what's he doing for you?"

"Even I'm at a loss as to how to pull _that_ off," Beast Boy chuckled. "At least, not without a scalpel and a lot of silicone."

"So this isn't a prank?"

"How could it be?" Cyborg countered. "I mean, look at you! That," he motioned in Raven's general direction, "just can't be done overnight!"

"I am confused. Are you suggesting that Raven's bosom did _not_ expand considerably overnight?"

Beast Boy was about to respond, when the phone rang, interrupting the conversation. Robin went to pick it up.

"Hello? .. No, this is the _other_ Titans' Tower. ... No, don't hang up! That was a joke... Really? Yes, I'll hold... Yes, this is Robin... Yes, I am aware... You what? When? ... Are you _kidding_ me? You can't expect us- ... Well, yeah, but on such short notice- ... _Ugh._ Yes, sir. You too."

Robin hung up the phone slowly.

"Who was that?" Cyborg asked.

"That was the mayor. He's holding an emergency press conference to discuss what's happened recently."

"Alright, when?"

"In about three hours."

* * *

Raven took a deep breath. Her hands shook against the table. There were more than a hundred people at the conference, but the meeting hall was still half empty. And Raven wasn't good with crowds. To her right, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were all giving her gestures of encouragement. She looked to Beast Boy on her left, and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back. She wasn't the only one who would be subject to questions today. It did nothing to help with her nervousness, though. There was only one thing for it. Locking eyes with Beast Boy, she sent a telepathic message for him to alert her when the conference officially started. Then, she tensed, her eyes becoming unfocused as she slipped into a meditative trance. It seemed it had only been a few seconds when Beast Boy's foot tapped against hers. Robin, as team leader, was just finishing his introductory statement, and had just opened the floor for them.

Their respective statements, though unplanned, mirrored each other in a frightening way. A basic rundown of the nature of their respective powers. The emotion impact of seeing a fallen teammate. The promise to exercise greater control and assurance that they did not have access to such power on a regular basis. Combined, it took less than fifteen minutes, but it achieved the the desired result of ensuring that the Titans had the best interests of Jump City at heart, despite their power level.

One undesirable result made itself known during the Question-and-Answer session. A curious tabloid journalist, after being (harshly) brushed off by Robin, set his sights on Beast Boy.

"What would you say is the status of your relationship with your teammate, Raven?"

Beast Boy froze, then decided that the best answer would be a comedic one.

"Uh... well... I don't think I'm allowed to answer that question. You'll have to ask her."

The journalist didn't seem to understand - or maybe just wouldn't accept - that he had been rebuffed, and turned the question to Raven. Testy and all too willing to get this whole thing over with, she stood up and addressed him personally.

"How's this for an answer?"

She dragged Beast Boy to his feet and planted a kiss on him, in front of everyone.

Guess who made the front page.

* * *

The doors in Titans' Tower could withstand temperatures of up to 1000 Degrees Fahrenheit. They could not be dented by anything less powerful than a rocket launcher, and could not be broken by anything, period. The sliding mechanism had five separate layers of backup in case of mechanical failure. A good third of the power a backup generator would provide would be routed to the doors to ensure that they worked. Cyborg himself had set up the program that allowed only a Titan to open them, as well as its seven layers of personal firewalls, constantly updated as he saw fit. This afternoon, however, revealed a single functional flaw: the doors could not be slammed.

Thus, when Robin called Raven into the changeling's room, he had to make do by repeatedly and rapidly mashing the button that opened and closed the door.

Beast Boy had already made himself comfortable... by hanging by his legs off the chin-up bar installed over his closet for this purpose. It was the same kind of harmless animal urge that would occasionally lead him to climb something or hit his head against something, or just run through the park. The fact that he was able was reason enough.

"Calm down. You're gonna break my door."

"Ten bucks says the button wears out before his fingers," Raven quipped.

Robin ceased his abuse of the poor button and rounded on her.

"You think this is a joke?"

"Sorta?" Beast Boy ventured. "I mean, I don't see why you're so worked up, it's just a kiss."

"There is no "just" anything when you've got status like we do. Do you know how much flak I got when it came out that I was dating Starfire? According to _The Enquirer_, we're hiding a seven-headed alien lovechild in the basement."

"_That's_ what those noises were?" Beast Boy teased. Robin's mask twitched. "Okay, I get why you're concerned, but nobody believes that rag."

"You'd be surprised at the levels of human stupidity," Raven muttered.

"Okay, fine. But what's done is done. Are we gonna go back in time and stop it?"

"I haven't ruled it out. I've been looking into that device we captured from Warp. We can probably get Cyborg to replicate-"

"Okay, stop right there," Raven interrupted. "You are honestly considering that we threaten the stability of the space-time continuum to stop me from kissing Beast Boy. Look at your life! Look at your choices! It's like you're obsessed with obsessing about things. I think you'd be loads happier if Slade showed his face again."

For a moment, it seemed as if Robin was getting ready to ready to grow a second set of eyes himself. Beast Boy wondered if he'd grow another mask to compensate. After a great deal of glaring and a few deep breaths, Robin regained his composure. Mostly.

"Fine," He growled. "There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm not condemning what you two have, but in the future, be a bit more careful about how you act in public."

He stomped out of the room.

The door slid rapidly between opened and closed for several more seconds, and then all was silent.

"So..." Beast Boy said, "is this good night?"

"I did something _really_ stupid, didn't I?"

Beast Boy sighed.

"Yeah, you did. But I'm the guy who invented _Stankball_, so I've still got you beat."

Raven managed a chuckle.

"Besides," he continued, "I'm totally alright with everyone knowing. Who cares what they say?"

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. But I still can't figure out why you decided to kiss me."

"That makes two of us. But I have a few ideas."

"Like what?"

"Well," Raven said, moving closer, "At first I thought it was because I knew it would shut them up. And later, I realized that it was practically the only thing that would take the attention off of my... enhancements."

"Fair point."

"But, now that I looked it over, I decided that I just really, _really_ wanted to kiss you."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. And I kind of still do."

"My, my. _Someone's_ been adventurous lately."

"Don't act like you don't enjoy it. You coming down, or should I come up?"

"I'll come down."

Moments later, Beast Boy was still dangling upside-down, but from a decidedly lower position. He had sprouted a tail, but was otherwise totally human.

"Selective shape-shifting," Beast Boy said with a smirk. "Cool, isn't it?"

"Any other new tricks I should know about?"

"I'm working on claws. The tail thing is really simple because since people don't normally have tails, I can just add anything I want back here, but reformatting the bone structure of just my hands while making it a viable addition- mmph!"

Beast Boy found himself unable to continue talking, due to Raven's mouth being over his. She pulled away for a second.

"You're kinda cute when you use high-school level words."

"Well then, I shall do my utmost to continue the trend."

Their lips met again, and Beast Boy's senses were overwhelmed. He felt the warmth of her smooth skin, the fire of the kisses she peppered him with, the slick silkiness of her hair. His ears told him of her harsh, rugged breaths and the rhythmic beating of her heart. But most of all, what he took in most was the scent. The aroma was almost stifling, so thick that he could almost taste it. He couldn't understand what it was or why it was there, but he wanted it. He wanted _her_.

"Ow!"

Beast Boy's eyes shot open. Raven's neck was bleeding. And he could taste blood on his teeth. He lost his concentration, and his tail disappeared, causing him to fall in a heap on the floor; he was up immediately in a panic.

"Are you okay?"

Raven had already put a glowing blue hand over the wound.

"Yeah. I'm- I'm fine. It's not-"

"I'm sorry! I didn't- I wasn't thinking and I just-"

"Beast Boy, the first time we kissed, your uvula ended up in another dimension. This cut isn't even that deep. See? All better," she said, removing her hand.

"I guess I got a little caught up," Beast Boy said sheepishly.

"You weren't the only one. I think we can call it a night."

"Yeah. 'Night Rae."

"Good night."

He watched as Raven sank into the floor and then, after waiting a few moments to ensure she wasn't returning, he dug through a mound of clothes to fish out his mirror. Someone was getting a lecture tonight...


	6. Moments

A/N: This chapter carries with it the assumption that you've read Mindscape... so if you haven't... go do it now. The story will still be here when you get back.

* * *

_Two Weeks Ago_

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Rae?"

"At _your_ suggestion."

Beast Boy and Raven were on the roof, inside a chalk circle with various symbols and sigils traced around the perimeter.

"I didn't suggest anything! I just said-"

"That since you're my boyfriend, it's not fair that Robin's mental connection with me is deeper than yours. So you _suggested_ that we should strengthen ours."

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Why are _you_ the one worrying? I'm essentially giving you the capacity to telepathically bug me whenever the hell you want."

"Well... that's the point. You really trust me with your mind?"

Raven reached over to take his hands in hers, and gave him the widest smile she could muster. It was still a bit on the creepy side, but hey, the girl was learning.

"Beast Boy, I'd trust you with my life."

Beast Boy's cheeks turned a darker shade of green.

"Aw, shucks."

Raven did her best not to blush along with him. It almost worked. She swiftly pulled her hood over her head.

"Now come on, we need to do the chant together."

* * *

_The huntress was excited. No, she was giddy._

_She had received her first battle scar. It was a surprise at first, to feel her own blood run down her skin, but in retrospect, it was exhilarating. For a few hours, she was warmer than she'd ever been; she could have walked through the mist on her hands. But now the chill was returning, and she'd follow along with the revelation she'd had:_

_She wasn't hunting for the prey: it was for the _challenge_. The thrill of the chase, the excitement of wondering if she could come out alive. It made her blood boil with anticipation. She set out on leaping through the trees again, her spear sharpened, her mind alert, her eyes darting from place to place. A tingle in the back of her mind turned her attention to what was behind her; the mist was creeping toward her. It was still a good distance away, and could do little harm now, but it would take its time, wait until she could fall prey again. She pressed on more swiftly. This time, her quarry wouldn't get away. It couldn't..._

Raven's shivered. It wasn't cold at all, but _she_ was. She extended a hand toward the closet and a thick blanket awkwardly wrapped itself around her; it did almost nothing to help. The cold lapped at her bones, doing its best to annoy her, until finally, she sat up and soundlessly floated herself down the hallway. A cup of tea was enough to take most of the edge off of the chill, and she was halfway through another before she felt another presence.

The cup shattered in her hands.

* * *

Robin's sleep schedule was erratic at best. It came with the territory of running around fighting crime alongside a man dressed as a bat; evil doesn't always strike when it's convenient. His mind had acclimated to the randomness, though, which was both a blessing and a curse, Because he was now awake at one in the morning, with Starfire sleepily cuddling against him. And as beautiful as Starfire was, he'd already spent a half hour counting the breaths that she took, flicking hairs out of her face, and other such cliched romantic things you did when a girl was using you as a teddy bear while she slept. He'd get pretty bored watching her sleep for the next four hours, so with sigh, he untangled himself from her arms and legs and headed down the hallway. He'd already completed the large backlog of case files **—** amazing what can actually be accomplished when the crime rate's dropped to zero due to a demon rampage**—** and so headed for the training room. Maybe he'd sleep better exhausted.

When he opened the door, his ears were assaulted by an unearthly howl. He poked his head in carefully to find the arena already in use. Most of the floor was covered in circuits and wrecked armor, and a measly four training robots were just... standing there, as if searching for something. He could sense something in the air... something dangerous and wild, but there was nothing he could see to confirm his suspicion.

And then suddenly, one of the robots came apart at the waist with a nearly perfect cut. Then another split itself in half vertically. The third lost its head and limbs in the blink of an eye. And the fourth... Even with all of Robin's training, he barely, _barely_ saw the green blur that left the fourth robot in pieces.

The next thing he knew, Beast Boy was crouching next to him. It took all of his willpower not to leap ten feet in the air at the sudden appearance.

"Hey, Robin."

Robin had his staff pointed at his face before Beast Boy was upright.

"You're not Beast Boy."

The cat-like eyes glared at him for a moment, and then brightened, accompanied by Beast Boy's trademark roguish grin.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"Whatever it is you're doing, stop it now."

"Relax, I'm not taking over or anything. Just getting a bit of exercise. I wouldn't be out here if he didn't allow it. I take it you trust his judgement?"

"... I suppose," Robin responded.

"Good, because I don't answer to you, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Remember what happened your ribs last time you fought me? I'm obviously the dominant one of the two of us. I don't have to listen to you."

"Well, how about-"

"Shh!"

An uncharacteristic look of concentration etched itself onto Beast Boy's face. His ears perked up, and he held up a hand.

"We'll finish this later."

He blinked, and Beast Boy's eyes returned to their former shape. Robin had no time to question him, though, because Beast Boy rushed out of the room as if it were on fire.

Three seconds later, Raven screamed.

* * *

So. Not only does nothing happen in this incredibly short chapter you waited five months for, but it ends up with a cliffhanger anyway.

I never knew I was this much of a troll.

Anyway, this chapter is mostly a setup of things. It's a breather, if you can call it that.


	7. Maturity

I'm running out of M-words.

A general note about why my stories take so long to go anywhere:

I often write stories with a couple of scenes in mind. For example, I say, "hmm, it would be cool to see Beast Boy reverse his line from _The Beast Within_." So I set that in stone. "It would also be kinda cool if in Beast Boy's head, his Trigon-copy has a role. And he and Raven should hook up." And voila, that was the entire reason for the existence of_ Mindscape_. Literally _every_ other plot point in that story was pulled from my ass.

And that's exactly what's going on here. And I haven't gotten to the center of the story yet, and am essentially throwing things at the dartboard to make them stick to the center... somehow. I can't always do metaphors right.

My intelligence can only be a gift from God, because my mind works in mysterious ways.

Also, another weird-ass thing about this: Mindscape was about an issue Beast Boy had, but was largely told from Raven's angle, about Raven's problems. And this is shaping up to be the total opposite.

* * *

Beast Boy didn't have to think much about where he was going; in fact, he had no idea. All he knew was that his feet could always bring him to Raven when she needed to be found. He dashed down corridors, changing form as easily as breathing as he ricocheted off of walls and made hairpin turns. Finally, he came upon the set of double doors that led to the common room, and burst through them. He had a fraction of a second to notice that Raven was struggling with someone before he was bowled over, back into the hallway. He had just started to adjust for momentum and detach himself from the hold, when a smoke bomb landed in their midst.

There was a _whoosh,_ a _clang_, and a series of small _booms_ as Starfire flew by, dropping Cyborg and sending Starbolts into the cloud.

"Don't move!" Cyborg's voice boomed, his Sonic Cannon whining in anticipation of a shot.

Beast Boy had finally gotten an upper hand in the grapple, shifting into an anaconda and squeezing the assailant into submission. He brought his head around to see who he'd captured as the smoke cleared.

It was Raven. In a pink hood. And giggling, despite the fact that her ribs could have been crushed to powder seconds ago. It took Beast Boy a second to call off his attack. He returned to his original form, completely nonplussed.

Robin sidled over, equally confused. "... Raven?" **(1)**

"A part of her," Cyborg explained. He noted Robin's expression, then continued. "Short version: Raven's emotions are actual people who live in their own dimension."

"The question," Beast Boy said, turning to Happy, "is _why_ you're here."

Happy beamed at him. "Cuz I want you to tell me a joke!"

Beast Boy stared at her, unsure of how serious she was being (it was hard to tell when she literally giggled every word she said).

"Come on, I don't have all day!" Happy said, shoving him backward.

Raven appeared then, cloak mussed and hair disheveled, giving him a look that seemed to say "get on with it."

It took beast boy a few seconds to get into a joke-telling mood.

"Uh... Okay, there's this egg, see?"

Happy nodded.

"And he wakes up in bed, and there's a chicken next to him, smoking a cigarette."

"Uh-huh."

"And then the chicken says 'well, there's the answer to that question!'"

There was an awkward silence in the hallway, which was broken up by an audible snort from Raven. Everyone (even Happy) turned to her in surprise.

"What?" she asked, trying to save face. "It was kind of clever."

Beast Boy smiled, but Robin and Happy stared at her in confusion. She sighed.

"What question could the chicken be referring to? One that involves both a chicken and an egg?"

Robin mulled it over for a bit.

"Huh. That _is_ pretty clever," he decided.

Happy, on the other hand, having finally figured it out, clutched her sides and indulged in a deep belly laugh that had her sprawled out on the floor. With an air of annoyance, Raven floated over to her, grabbed her by the back of the cloak, and shoved her unceremoniously into a portal.

"Now that _that's_ over with," she muttered as she headed back to the kitchen, "I have a cup of tea to make."

"And," Starfire began, "I seem to be lacking certain information required to fully comprehend the meaning of this anecdote."

Robin was quickly grabbed by three different pairs of arms and hurled in Starfire's general direction. He walked off babbling, Starfire floating by and clinging to his every word.

Cyborg sighed in relief. "We dodged a bullet there, didn't we? So what was the screaming about?"

Raven brushed him off.

"It's nothing. She got out and had the _brilliant_ idea to give me a surprise hug while I was pouring boiling water."

She removed her left arm from her cloak, revealing an angry red welt. Beast Boy was at her side in an instant, gingerly holding her arm to look at it.

"Geez! Rae, this looks really bad."

She pulled her hand back under her robe.

"You're overreacting, Beast Boy. I can heal, remember?"

Beast Boy's ears drooped. "I know."

Raven's eyes widened. "Oh, no, I didn't mean-"

"No, it- it's cool. I mean, you _said_ it was cool, so... yeah."

Cyborg felt uneasy as they turned their heads toward him. "Did I miss something?"

"No," They said in unison.

"And that means I _did_, but it would probably kill my brain if you told me. Good night."

He threw a mock salute and set off down the hallway, leaving his teammates in a cloud of awkward.

"Is there a problem?" Raven ventured, when the silence became thick enough to cut.

"Oh, there's _something_..."

"Just not something you want to discuss."

"Yeah."

"Same."

"Okay then," Beast Boy began. "I don't want to talk. You don't want to talk. We won't talk."

"I second the motion."

"Motion carried."

A corner of Raven's mouth quirked upward before she could stop it. They were still very close physically, and it took everything in her being to resist the urge to kiss him again.

"Um... I'm gonna... go now."

As a portal formed on the floor, a pink hood popped out and waved.

"Hi Beast Bo- ow!"

A dark blue boot stomped on her head, pushing her back down into the hole. Raven glared at her foot, then looked up to Beast Boy with a smile.

"Good night. Again."

* * *

Raven hovered out of her portal, back in the dark comfort of her room, and flopped down onto her bed. When Happy landed beside her, Raven gave her a little pat on the head.

"Thanks for covering for me."

"Thanks for letting me see Beast Boy," Happy replied. "We should totally do this again. We can play volleyball, and I can teach him to play chess, and we can play _Mega Monkeys CXXVII,_ and-"

"Back in the mirror."

In an uncharacteristic display, Happy frowned.

"Alright," she huffed, stepping over to Raven's nightstand, picking up the violet mirror, and disappearing into it.

"Now that she's gone," a voice echoed out of the darkness, "we can talk without any... interruptions."

A chill ran up Raven's spine as another figure climbed into the bed beside her. She fairly leapt to her feet, and the intruder let out a mock whine.

"Aw, you're no fun anymore."

The figure on her bed dissipated into wisps of shadow, but her playful laughter echoed softly about the room.

"I was never fun."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Just... go away," Raven ordered, attempting to put on a brave face.

"Why would I do that?"

The voice came from behind her, and before Raven could react, a pair of arms- her own arms- wrapped about her midriff.

"Don't you remember all the _good times_ we had?"

Raven's breath caught as her doppelganger's hands traced their way up and down her hips. She forgot what she was going to say, until she felt the fingers near her armpit, the palm starting to cup her. Finding herself again, she grabbed the offending hand and turned to face herself.

Of all the things that ran around in Raven's mind, Rage was definitely the one that frightened her the most. But this one was a close second.

She wore Affection's robe, or at least a mockery of it. This shade of purple was bright, loud, and downright _scandalous_. The unitard was ripped horizontally, barely covering her hips and allowing her to show off some under-cleavage. A long, spear-tipped tail swished about near her feet, and of course, the look wouldn't be complete without the two extra eyes and tiny antlers.

* * *

Raven left without making her tea.

**(1)** I'm assuming Robin doesn't really know that much about Raven's unique emotional issue. It never really came up again in the show, but there were a couple incidents in the comic adaptation. And yes, there is a comic adaptation of a show that was itself an adaptation of a comic. [Insert Hackneyed Inception Joke]


	8. Muddled

You know what I really hate? Ending a chapter implying that an important conversation is about to start. Because 90% of the time, I end up skipping over the conversation altogether, or having it interrupted, because it refuses to come out the way I want it to.

Like now!

But as penance, Have a Beast Boy on catnip!

* * *

Raven narrowed her eyes at the... _thing_ in front of her.

"What do you want?"

It was a stupid question, Raven realized. There was really no question as to _what_ this particular aspect desired.

The four eyes seemed to glow brighter. "Isn't it obvious? I want Beast Boy." She tackled Raven onto the bed, bringing her face within inches of hers. "_We_ want Beast Boy."

Raven just stared. She'd feared that she'd been getting too close to Beast Boy, but this?

"Isn't this a bit... sudden?"

"It's been five weeks. You've been on fifteen dates. And don't tell me you're not sure how you feel about him either. Is there _anyone_ else in the universe who could convince you to get in a _tickle fight_?"

Raven's silence was all the answer that was required. Even she couldn't explain what had come over her that afternoon last week.

Except if...

"Wait a minute... you did that, didn't you?"

The emotion attempted an innocent expression that inexplicably made her look more provocative.

"And you did _this_," Raven accused, pointing to her chest "too, didn't you?"

Four eyes averted, but the grin stayed. Raven was really about to lay into her when a knock came at the door.

"Hey, Raven?"

It was Beast Boy. Raven's eyes widened, and finding strength she didn't know she had, she threw her demonic double across the room, telekinetically opening her closet door as she did so. Straightening her hair and rubbing creases out of her unitard, she floated over to the door.

"Hi Beast Boy. What's... up?"

He looked... out of it. His eyes were rimmed in red, his posture was more slouched than usual, and his grin, while idiotic, was idiotic in the wrong ways.

"Hey Rae," he slurred, holding up a platter, "I brought you your tea, because you left without making it, and I didn't want you to be upset and... stuff."

"Um... Thanks. You okay?"

"I am _totally_ okay, dude."

"What kind of tea is this?"

"I dunno... I just picked the one that smelled the best. And I liked it, so I made some for myself."

Raven took a sip of her tea, then cupped her forehead in her palm. _Nepeta Cataria_. In English: Catnip. She'd already had to place it in a Chromium box, after Starfire stumbled upon it and spent the rest of the day staring at her hands*. Now she actually had to _hide_ it.

"How much did you have?"

"One cup... or three," he explained, holding up seven fingers.

A look of confusion crossed his face as he realized his error, and he began fumbling about, searching for the right combination of fingers, until he settled on his pinkies and left thumb, which he broadcasted proudly.

"Or was it six?"

Raven shook her head, gulped down the rest of her tea (tea preparation was apparently something Beast Boy could only do well when he was high; she couldn't let this masterpiece go to waste) and led Beast Boy into her room.

"Come on, I don't trust you to walk back to your room like this."

"I walked all the way here from the kitchen, Rae."

"Well, I've been looking for an excuse to get you into be-."

She clapped her free hand over her mouth and looked to the closet, where four glowing orbs and a mischievous grin melted back into the shadows. Beast Boy had the presence of mind to parse her meaning, however, and he giggled.

"Since when do you tell jokes?"

"Don't get used to it," Raven muttered, climbing into bed.

"Awww, but I like Funny Raven," Beast Boy complained, cuddling up to her and rubbing his forehead against her navel.

"Beast Boy."

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Your skin is warm and you smell good and I want my forehead to smell like you."

"Well, stop it."

"Okay."

He immediately ceased and curled up "properly" behind her, wrapping his arms about her waist, and began snoring.

Raven was happy for the contact- she had still been a bit chilly- but was agitated by how _close_ he was. If he knew the _thoughts_ that were running through her head right now, she'd crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment. After what seemed like hours of internal struggle, Raven pulled away to sit at the opposite edge of the bed. Beast Boy, aware of the disturbance, reached for her, but came up short. He opened his eyes- still reddened and unfocused- and rubbed at them.

"Whass' wrong?" he mumbled blearily.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Even under the influence, Beast Boy knew better.

"Is this about the other night?"

Raven sighed. "Yes."

"It was a close call," Beast Boy said. "Wasn't the first, probably won't be the last."

"Not... that part."

Beast Boy looked at her quizzically, but didn't respond.

"Look, it's just- I'm... I'm _feeling_ things. For my entire life, I've been told that feeling is wrong, that I'd blow up the world or something if I don't keep myself in check, but I _want_ to feel things, and right now it's like I'm pushing at some sort of boundary to see how far I can go, but what if I go too far and... lose it? Lose _everything_?"

"You're getting better, though," Beast Boy said, drawing something in the air with his finger. "You haven't broken anything in like a month. Except Dr. Light, but you always break _him_ so that shouldn't really-"

"Beast Boy, it's not about breaking things."

"It probably is, though. Really, when was the first time you got the whole "your emotions are evil" lecture from the monks?"

Raven thought back. "I was around five. I yelled a bit too loud and broke some sacred statue or whatever."

"And you'd been able to use your powers normally before that, right?"

"Yeah."

He paused, a bit too long, and Raven wondered if he'd fallen asleep when he suddenly sat up,

"I have... an idea!" he yelled, finger pointing at the ceiling.

This was going to be good. "Let's hear it."

"Your powers are trolling you."

Raven met the words with a blank stare.

"Good night, Beast Boy."

He pulled on her arm until she sat up again.

"Nah, listen. This is really, like out there, man. So you've had the empathy thing since you were old enough to talk, right? And the monks knew you had powers and stuff, and your powers came from demons. So all this time, they've been thinking 'her powers are destructive,' 'they're gonna doom the whole world.' And impressionable three-year-old Raven got all that negative feedback and it built up until your powers worked like the monks _thought_ they would."

"You're saying I've been subliminally manipulated into believing my powers worked a certain way."

"Sort of, but there's also this thing where your powers are kind of like a moody teenager going through their rebellion phase. As the parent, you could put up roadblocks and be super strict, but they're gonna do what they want anyway, so they'll just fight against them. You gotta work with them or they'll always be against you, y'know?"

"That's... really profound."

"I try."

He stretched back out on the bed, and Raven moved closer to snuggle up against him. He gave a small moan of content and lay still. Until...

"Hey Rae?"

"Yeah?"

"What if the prince went to the tower to rescue the princess from the dragon and it turned out the dragon _was_ the princess?"

"..."

"..."

"_Good night,_ Beast Boy."

* * *

Aah, I don't want to stop here, but my ideas haven't formed yet as to how this is going to continue so here. At least it's not a cliffhanger.

* According to DC canon, the animals that Tamaranians evolved from are genetically closest to felines. Go figure.


	9. Marko

*rises dramatically from coffin*

I live!

Happy New Year! It is my resolution to finish this fic. Let's hope I can keep it.

* * *

Beast Boy awoke to a sharp pain in his right ear. He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the fabric of Raven's sheets, a few wisps of her violet hair visible from his position. Still in a sleep funk, it took him a few seconds to identify the round squishy _thing_ his hand was on. Then he shot up like a spring, only to have his momentum arrested by his ear, which was stuck in Raven's mouth. She bit down harder, eliciting a squeal.

"Ah! Okay, uncle! Uncle! I surrender!"

If anything, she clamped down with even more force, until he feared he was going to lose his ear. In one final gambit, he morphed his tongue into a chameleon's and shot it as far down her ear canal as it could go. She awoke with a start, releasing his ear with a yell.

"Beast Boy, what are you... ugh!"

She shuddered, rubbing the outside of her ear.

Beast Boy looked up from wiping his tongue on the sheets. "You're the one who went Mike Tyson on me."

Belatedly, Raven noticed Beast Boy's mangled ear. "I did that?"

"No, I bit my own ear off, just to see if I could."

"Uh... sorry. I was having... strange dreams."

She put a hand on the side of his face and began the healing spell, her face heating up despite the innocence of the action.

"Y'know," Beast Boy joked, seeing her discomfort, "I thought it wasn't possible for me to become more familiar with demon earwax than I already was."

"Hm."

"Uh... How'd I get in your room?"

"You... got into the catnip and fell asleep here."

Raven hoped Beast Boy wouldn't pry beyond that.

"Did I do anything weird?" Beast Boy asked, hesitant.

"You showed intelligence in a field other than biology and pop culture. And used the word 'impressionable.'"

"That _is_ weird, but not exactly what I mean."

"So what do you mean?"

He hesitated, his cheeks turning somewhat brown as blood rushed to them.

"I was just wondering if I'd made any... unwanted advances?"

Raven's silence was enough of an answer for him. He looked totally distraught as he started a rambling apology.

"Oh, God, Rae, did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it... I told you to stop and you did, so it isn't really an issue."

She smiled at Beast Boy's audible sigh of relief.

"That's more than I can say for you when you're _sober_." Raven said, shooting him a wry smirk as he glared in mock offense. "Plus, you were way better at making tea. I'm might catnip you more often just for that."

Beast Boy's frown became even more dramatic and Raven stifled a giggle. She removed her hand from Beast Boy's head, revealing a newly grown ear. After a brief examination, she declared it good as new, just as Beast Boy's stomach began to growl.

He blushed again. "So... breakfast?"

* * *

For the rest of the week, Beast Boy and Raven kept trying to find reasons to spend the night together. By Sunday night, they'd stopped making excuses. Every morning, one or both of them would wake up with superficial injuries, but neither desired to discuss them.

The arrangement remained undiscovered by the other Titans, mainly because Raven and Beast Boy had begun acting _weird_. And given how they'd already been acting, as well as the general daily oddities of which the Titans' lives consisted, that said _a lot_.

Robin was used to seeing a board game going on in the common room. And it wasn't too far-fetched for Raven to play along, even if it were one of the more brightly-colored, roll-dice-and-screw-everyone-else-over games that Beast Boy enjoyed so much. But he never expected Beast Boy had the capacity to play quietly. And yet, there he was, playing chess with Raven. No noise. No motion. Intense focus. The fact that he was _winning_.

That still wasn't as bizarre as Raven playing video games. Or the fact that Raven was going out of her way to annoy Beast Boy. Nobody knew what Beast Boy did to get her to play _Ninja Marines Battle Force XII_ in the first place. But once she figured out how to work the cloaking mechanism, she spent entire sessions shadowing behind Beast Boy's character, waiting for him to whittle down whoever he was tailing, before jumping in to steal his kill. And then she'd tag him with a grenade, just for good measure.

After his fourth round scoring a negative number of points, Beast Boy hurled his controller to the ground and rounded on Raven, baring his teeth and _roaring_ in her face. She chuckled and flicked his nose before slithering out of the room, leaving Starfire, Cyborg and Robin disturbed and confused in her wake, but they knew not to get him riled when he was in one of his moods.

Thankfully, he'd decided to pick up the controller again, and began a new game, with Starfire, who had previously been sitting out, taking Raven's place.

"You guys better not go easy on me," he warned.

He still won, but he seemed far too trigger-happy for anyone's liking.

* * *

There was no doubt that the next morning's breakfast would be a strange affair (not that it wasn't a strange affair every _other_ morning, and had become downright _surreal_ since Beast Boy and Raven had started dating), but they had no idea the _degree_ of weirdness that would be wrought.

The fact that Raven was _eating_ breakfast, instead of drinking her herbal tea, was an oddity in and of itself, but considering that she was on her fifth plate of bacon, everyone was concerned (Robin mostly for her arteries). Except for Beast Boy. He was just annoyed.

"Hey, you want to crunch on that pig fat a bit louder?"

Raven glared cheekily, taking a strip in her fist and biting a piece off of it like it was taffy. She then proceeded to chew with her mouth wide open, making disgusting slapping sounds to go along with it. Beast Boy moved one seat over (bumping Robin off of his seat) and Raven followed, chewing even more obnoxiously.

"Will you quit it?"

"Make me," Raven said, spraying bacon on his face as she spoke.

Beast Boy responded by shoving her plate across the table, sending it to shatter against the floor. They rose as one, glaring murderously into each others' eyes as their foreheads touched, Beast Boy on his tiptoes to remain level with her. They no longer spoke, instead choosing to growl, hiss and snarl threats that only they understood. Beast Boy's muscles bulged. Raven's skin started turning crimson. Hands twitched in contemplation, ears perked warily. They were in a dead heat, each trying to read the other for a sign of their first move. Just one sign of motion from either party could set off a chain reaction that-

"Now kiss!" Cyborg yelled, popping up beside them.

The next thing anyone knew, Cyborg was six inches deep in the concrete wall, a foot off the ground, with Beast Boy, holding him by the neck.

He had half-transformed into the Beast, his head mostly unchanged, if a bit larger overall, with enlarged fangs and longer, shaggier hair that more closely resembled fur. His legs had grown long enough that he was nearly level with Cyborg, and his arms, while about the same length, were thick and furry, ending in blunt claws.

"Or not," Cyborg said nervously to the blank eyes, even as the green pupils faded back in.

Beast Boy tugged Cyborg out of the wall before shifting back to his normal size with a sickening chorus of pops and creaks.

He grimaced, turning his head to crack his neck. "Sorry, Cy. I wasn't expecting-."

"It's cool," Cyborg muttered, turning his head 180 degrees to properly see to his back being dusted off. "I shoulda known better. We cool?"

He offered his hand, but by the time he'd turned his head back to its rightful position, Beast Boy was marching down the hall.

* * *

"Run simulation TTTS-GL Routine BW."

_Warning: This is a high-level routine designed for Garfield Logan. Voice Recognition required for security clearance._

"Mark Marie."

_Welcome Garfield. The simulation will begin in 5... 4... 3... 2..._

Doors opened, and a wave of robots rushed at Beast Boy, some swinging nets, others with low-powered laser guns. He smiled, flexing his fingers in anticipation.

He shifted into a lion and pounced on the first one that came within leaping distance, knocking it onto its back and shoving its claws through its chest. Thick red fluid spurted out, covering Beast Boy as he changed form again, chomping another robot's head off as a flying shark and becoming a velociraptor upon landing. It took less than a minute for the slaughter to end, and Beast Boy called for more, this time without weapons, at the lowest combat skill rating. The computer had no rebuttal, and he relished in the idea that it was simply too terrified to question him.

He spent fifteen minutes, attacking without rhyme or reason, purely for the sake of destruction. Five minutes in, his bloodlust had become so great that he no longer cared what he turned into. At ten, he'd stopped shifting entirely, pulling them apart with his bare hands, kicking their joints out of socket, and generally being as cruel as he could stand to be. By this point, the computer was simply asking him if he wanted another wave of dummies to dismember.

Just as he tore the final robot's throat out with his teeth and was about to call in another squad, he heard Robin's voice over the loudspeaker.

"End simulation. Override Code: Alfred."

_Access Denied. Garfield, would you like to repeat?_

"It's alright. I'm done," Beast Boy said.

_Powering down. Initiating Clean-up. Have a nice day, Garfield._

The arena powered down as a bunch of small robots entered to clean up the mess.

Beast Boy glared at Robin as he entered the floor.

"Um, sorry to interrupt Mr... Beast, sir. You mind if I talk to Beast Boy?"

"It _is_ Beast Boy," came the response. "And for future reference, his name is Marko."

A beat.

Robin blinked. "Marko. The Beast." He sounded caught between laughing uproariously and slitting his own throat.

"He wanted to take my middle name, Mark, but for personal reasons I couldn't give it to him, so I added an -o as a compromise. So why are you here again?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Well, Marko's been a bit agitated recently, so I'm just kind of blowing off steam. Sorry you had to see-" he waved his hand at the carnage he'd wrought, "that. It's something Cy and I worked on. Only I can start or stop it. Also, it's tomato sauce, not blood."

Robin nodded. "So, what happened at breakfast?"

"I was startled. It was all pretty knee-jerk, you know. Like I said, Marko's a bit off-kilter right now. Sometimes he just wants to wreck stuff."

"Not that. Cyborg admits he set you off. I'm talking about you and Raven. And if it had something to do with "Marko" and... me."

Beast Boy looked confused, and Robin had to explain last night's short encounter, and how he'd been disrespected by Beast Boy's alter-alter-ego.

"It's not that hard, actually. To him, we're a pack. You were the Alpha Wolf, until he beat you; that's how it would work in the animal kingdom. I'm stronger than him, so he answers to me..."

"But you defer to me, and he doesn't like being under someone who he thinks is weak. Okay, I guess I can live with that if you've got him under control."

"I could try to teach him the concept of Rock-Paper-Scissors."

Robin smile. "Whatever you think would work."

There was an awkward pause, before Robin changed the subject. "So what's up with you and Raven?"

"She's what's got Marko so agitated."

"From one guy to another," Beast Boy added when The Boy Wonder seemed unaware of his meaning.

The left half of Robin's mask widened.

Beast Boy noted Robin's realization with sheepish grin. "Yeah."

"I... know how that feels. Cold showers. Late nights sitting awake, just-"

"I'd prefer if we just awkward bro-hugged and called it a day."

"... Actually, so would I," Robin admitted.

And they did, with a silent promise to never discuss anything that happened in the last five minutes, under pain of death.


End file.
